By the Skin of Your Teeth
by redtailedhero
Summary: Isla Nublar; the name alone gave her goose bumps. If her father was still alive he'd probably kill her for going. Despite her family's history with the first park, Karina sets out to work for Mr. Masrani. Set before the Jurassic World movie events. OwenXOc. Slow Burn.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Okay I'm giving this a shot. I have this story in my head and soooooo many ideas keep popping up and it's killing that I can't just sit here and type away 24/7. Let me know what you think, honestly.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Jurassic Park, Jurassic World or any of its characters. I only own my own characters.**

 **Prologue**

 **2005**

It was early, the sun was just starting to rise; most of the stars were faded by the light, being replaced by clusters of white fluffy clouds. There was a gentle breeze in the warm summer air but it didn't bring the smell of freshly cut grass like she was used to; instead it brought the smell of salt water reminding her of where exactly she was heading.

She was curled in a ball on her bed as she swallowed down the sick feeling that was tearing at her stomach. At first she was sure she was sea sick, having never been on a boat of any type but now she was pretty sure it was just because of her destination.

Isla Nublar; the name alone gave her goose bumps.

If her father was still alive he'd probably kill her for going. She groaned at the thought of him and covered her face with her hands. Why was she doing this to herself and her family? She asked herself that questions several times since they set sail. Rolling on her side she stared at the wall and tried to remember exactly what events took place to lead her here in the past two weeks.

 _She was filling out the paper work for the summonses she wrote that morning when a small tapping came upon the door. "Uh, Karina?" Nicole stepped into the office sounding a little unsure and nervous._

 _The blue eyed girl looked up from her paperwork and smiled at the girl. "What's wrong Nikki?" Her smile turned two a frown when she saw two men in business suits standing behind her co-worker. "These men came to see you." The girl in the doorway explained as she looked over her shoulder at the men. "Do you want me to send them away? I know you're busy."_

 _"Nonsense. Come in gentlemen." She waved her hand motioning for the men to come into the room. She then gestured to the chairs in front of her desk and waited until they were seated before speaking again. "What can I do for you?"_

 _"We represent Masrani Global." One man spoke ad then there was a long pause of silence._

 _"Am I supposed to know what that means?" She asked._

 _The second man cleared his throat. "We have come to you with a job offer. Mr. Masrani has been looking for someone with your particular set of skills for his company."_

 _Karina blinked twice. "Gentlemen, I'm sorry I don't understand. I obviously have a job. Why would I take a new one? Your boss understands that he can hire someone fresh from the training academy, right? I mean there are usually around 100 students in the county alone that graduate every year."_

 _"Our boss did think about that at first but it was ultimately decided that someone with experience, education and understanding would be a better candidate. Plus with your family history he figured that he wouldn't be able to find anyone more suited for this position."_

 _"Excuse me? My family history? What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Karina snapped the questions, feeling defensive._

 _"Please miss, Mr. Masrani means no harm. We understand that your family had collected the $12.6 million dollars in the lawsuit of your father's death. We are fully aware that your family had requested that you would never be contacted again by the company. However, we truly feel like you are needed in this position." The man kept speaking but Karina stopped listening, slightly shell-shocked at the mention of her father. Her blue eyes darted to the picture of him on her desk, his matching blue eyes staring back at her. She had been 11 years old when he was killed and she missed him greatly. His voice still rang clear in her memories. 'How's my clever girl doing?'_

 _Karina put her hand up, causing the man to stop in his speak. "I'm sorry, what does your boss have to do with my father and his death?"_

 _""Miss Muldoon, Mr. Masrani works with scientists from InGen, the company founded by Dr. Hammond. It has been twelve years since the events of Jurassic Park, but with the advances in science and technology Jurassic World will have big improvements and is set to open this year."_

 _"Woah, wait! Back up. Jurassic World? You're not serious are you? You people are out of your mind."_

 _"Miss Muldoon-"_

 _"No, get out of my office."_

 _The men looked at each other and stood from their seats. "Sorry to intrude. If you change your mind, feel free to call." The man placed a business card on her desk._

 _"I said get out."_

 _She stared at the business card for two days. For some reason she couldn't bring herself to throw it out. Cursing her curiosity she grabbed her phone and called the number on the back. She set up a time and place to meet with Mr. Masrani himself to talk about the 'job' he wanted to hire her for._

 _She sat at the table in a small coffee shop, sipping on her tea while she waited for the owner of Masrani Global to meet her. The man who met her was extremely nice and understanding of her hesitation on the whole ordeal. "Miss Muldoon, you must understand why I choose you."_

 _"Actually no, I have no idea while you want to hire me. I'm an animal control officer the worst thing I've had to wrangle was a wild raccoon, not a dinosaur."_

 _"Not only are you an animal control officer but you were a veterinarian assistant before; an honor student since middle school and graduating college with a bachelor's degree at the age of eighteen. You, Miss Muldoon, have smarts. Plus I haven't explained the job to you yet."_

 _She looked at him and sighed. "Alright, tell me about this position."_

 _He smiled at her. "As you said before, you're an animal control officer. You have experience working all types of animals. You understand animal temperament, behavior, and body language. You know how to react to many scenarios. I would like to hire you to train our Asset Containment Unit, ACU, in different situations. These men and women are highly trained former military personnel. Professional killers, if you will. They lack working with living animals, except two of them who has bomb dogs in their units. I need professionals who know how to hunt down any specimens that possibly escape, sedate it and then humanely transport it back to their containment area. After the training is done I'd like you to oversee all transports and perhaps help with the animal care."_

 _"You do realize that dogs and dinosaurs are completely different? Actually all animals are different from dinosaurs; how am I supposed to know the body language of any of them?" She asked._

 _"I believe you can do it, because you are your father's daughter." It wasn't many words but it's what sealed the deal without him even knowing it._

So despite everything that her family had gone through after her father's death she went home and thought about the whole conversation. She confirmed her choice; packed her things, gave her two weeks' notice to her job, fought with her mother, and got on this god forsaken boat.

I wasn't much longer that she stared at the ceiling in her room when the announcement was make over the loud speaker that they would be docking at the harbor. She groaned and forced herself to gather her bags and move to the deck.

The island was huge, just like her father told her. She frowned at the thought of him. She wondered where he would have taken her first. Not the velociraptors. Never the velociraptors. She remembered her father telling her mother that he felt that the raptors should have been destroyed. In the end he was right. Dr. Sattler was the one to confirm that her father was killed by the creatures he was so against.

Karina glared at the island. She really hoped they were smart enough to not make the velociraptors. She didn't have any more time to think about it as the boat made dock. Grabbing her bags, she swiftly moved off the boat and back to dry land, where she obviously belonged. There was a man holding a sign with her name printed across it with big capitalized letters. She made her way over to him. "Hello there, Karina Muldoon. Pleasure to meet you."

"Ah! Ms. Muldoon. The name is Lowery Cruthers. The pleasure is all mine. Your father is a legend." He thrust his hand forward at her, his enthusiasm throwing her off a little. Nonetheless, she shook his hand and smiled. "If you follow me, I'll bring you to meet Claire Dearing. She will go over all the details of the island, your badge and access card. We are having a big lunch meet and greet for all employees at noon."

"Sounds great, Lowery. Lead the way." Karina stated as she took in the surrounding around her.

 **A/N: Thoughts? Ideas? I'm willing to work with ideas given. I aim to please.**


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Wow! Thank you for the reviews, the favorites and the alerts. I'm really glad you guys seem interested in the story. I usually wait until I've written half a story before posting it and by then the fandom has died down. But I took a chance this time and I'm glad I did. I'll be seeing the movie again tonight with a friend who hasn't seen it yet, so it will definitely make me want to write for the next chapter soon. I hope you guys like this chapter.**

 **I do sometimes post progress to my twitter. Feel free to follow. Username: RedTailedHero**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Jurassic Park, Jurassic World or any of its characters. I only own my own characters.**

 **Chapter One**

 **2005**

After dropping her bags off at her new place, which reminded her of a mini condo, Karina and Lowery headed over to the 'Samsung Innovation Center'. The two of them made small talk along their travels. "I've been here two weeks and everyone has been great. I'll be working in the control room, overseeing the park and the positions of guests. I learn more about my job everyday along with different ways on how to handle different situations. I heard you'll be working with the ACU team, is that true?" Lowery asked as he held the door open for her.

"So I've been told." She answered. "Not sure how much help I'll actually be with dinosaurs."

"Oh don't get yourself down. I mean you must been great at what you do. Masrani told Claire that he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer from you. He was very adamant that you were hired for the position." Lowery smiled at her.

"Well, nothing like putting that pressure on me." Karina groaned. Lowery frowned at her and started to apologize when she smiled at him. "No sweat. I got this."

"Lowery!" A female voice called out his name causing him and Karina to look at the source. "Vivian!" He smiled at the female who was walking their way. Once the girl stood in front of them Lowery took the responsibility of introducing the two females. "It's wonderful to meet you. Ms. Dearing is awaiting your arrival. Get checked in with Lowery and then meet her in the conference room." Vivian smiled and took her leave.

Lowery brought Karina behind the desk in the lobby and starting typing on the computer. "I'm just entering your check in, showing that you have arrived on the island." He explained. Next he opened a drawer and pulled out a wristband that had the park logo on it. There were other colors in the drawer but he pulled out a grey one for her. "This is your wristband. Everyone who works here gets a gray one." He scanned the barcode on the inside of the band and the computer beeped, confirming activation to Karina's name. "This is what you use on your days off around the park. It has all the perks; dining, rides, transport, etcetera," He handed the band to her and she blinked. "Dining?"

"Oh yeah, you don't spend your money to eat. Mr. Masrani feels it's the 'least he can do' for the employees here. If you're going to the bar for drinks, now that's a different story." By now Lowery was moving out from behind the desk, motioning for her to follow. They took the spiral staircase to the third floor. "So do the other color wristbands mean anything?" She asked out of curiosity.

"Oh yeah, you'll be trained on that as well. Blue is for employee family members, anyone with medical problems get an orange one, white is for those who didn't purchase a dining plan and there are more, but you'll go over it."

They reached the third floor and went to the second room on the right, when the door swung open on their arrival as a man walked out and almost crashed into Lowery. "Woah, sorry about that Lowery." The man smiled.

"That's fine Mr. Grady."

"Just Owen." His eyes darted past the male to the female standing next to him. "And who is this?"

"Karina. Nice to meet you, Owen." She smiled and held out her hand. He smiled back and took her hand, but instead of shaking it he brought his face down and placed a gentle kiss on the back on it. "Trust me, the pleasure is all mine."

Karina couldn't stop the light blush on her cheeks; she hoped Lowery or Owen took notice to it. She pulled her hand back, trying to seem unfazed. After all she had her assumptions that he was really just a big flirt. "Well then, I have to take my leave. I have a meeting to be in. I'll see you later Lowery. Good day Mr. Grady." With that she entered the room but before the door closed Owen spoke again. "It's just Owen."

The door closed with a click and Karina walked over to the woman at the desk. She looked up from her paperwork and smiled. "Hello, I'm Claire Dearing. You are…?" She trailed off the question.

"Karina Muldoon."

The woman's blue eyes widened slightly. "Oh, you're here. How was your trip? Mr. Masrani was hoping you'd make it on time. I heard you weren't sure if you're flight was going to be delayed due to a nasty storm."

"The trip was fine. There was a tornado warning but it cleared rather shorty after I made the call to Mr. Masrani."

During this moment Claire noticed the gray wristband. "Oh I see you received your wristband. Was it explained to you?"

"Yes, Lowery was kind enough to go over it with me."

"Great, then we can get started with everything else." Claire flashed another smile before diving into details of the park and of course the Asset Containment Unit. By the end of their discussion Karina decided that she really liked Claire. She was smart, organized and a dedicated leader. "I'd love for you to meet some of your team at the lunch meeting. I won't be able to attend but keep an eye out for Katashi Hamada. He will be the leading commander on the team."

"I suppose I'll be working with him the most then." Karina stated as she gathered the papers that Claire provided her; consisting of a map, a schedule and list of various codes that she would need to learn in case of any problems happening on the island.

Karina found Lowery outside of Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, and he smiled and waved when his eyes met hers. "How was your meeting with Claire?" He asked.

"I think it went well. She wants me to look for my team at lunch. I think it's best if I find Katashi first, since he is the commander of the unit. If you see him can you point him out?" She asked as the two of them stepped into the building.

"Of course." Lowery stated as he walked her over to a table. There were already other people sitting there and she recognized Vivian and Owen right away. Karina took and open seat next to a dark skinned man who was talking adamantly to another male. She was looking at the menu when the man stopped talking and turned his attention to her. "I didn't even notice anyone sit down. The name is Barry and you are?"

"Nice to meet you, the name is Karina."

"Beautiful name. Tell me Karina, what made you come to work for Jurassic World?" He asked.

"Well, apparently Mr. Masrani wouldn't take no for an answer; so it's safe to say he is the reason I'm on this island." She answered bluntly.

Barry chuckled. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Well, considering this island will once again become the home for what once were extinct creatures then yes it could be bad thing. Plus I'm not used to this heat. It's killing me."

A waitress came around and took everyone's order before disappearing. While waiting for their lunch everyone took turns talking about themselves; where they came from, what department they would be working in and other little nonsense things to make the time go by.

Finally Lowery tapped Karina on the shoulder and pointed across the room to a small group at the bar. "That's half of the ACU team. The man with the baseball cap on is Katashi. You should head over and introduce yourself." He stated.

"Good idea. I'll do that now." She stood from her seat. "Protect my food with your life." She joked as she walked away. She went across the room and introduced herself to the team. She was pleased to find out that the ACU was actually split into two teams and that Austin, the other team leader, was sitting there as well. She was also happy to see another female there, Angela Meyers. Once she was comfortable with the members of the group she began talking about how exactly they were going to work together.

"Well, it shouldn't be that hard to get them under control. I mean they're just animals. We'll just shoot them up and drag them back to their spot." This answer came from Craig and it didn't please Karina in the least bit. "Just animals?" It was more of a mockery of his statement than a question. "Let me just inform you Craig, believe it or not these creatures will most likely be smart. Or perhaps they might get easily spooked and in a herd it could cause something of a stampede." She looked at the other team members. "Animals are not easy to control. It's a about a mutual agreement of respect and even then it could be risky. I would suggest you learn a little bit more about the creatures you'll be 'shooting and dragging back' to their areas. An amateur mistake like thinking you're in complete control could get you or a teammate either hurt or even killed." By this time Karina had noticed that the restaurant had grown quiet, she could feel the eyes on her back but she chose to ignore it the best she could. "I'd like to see some demonstrations of some of your containment plans. I'd like to revise anything that might to out of place."

"I didn't meant to offend you – but we're trained military. I think we have this covered." Austin spoke this time.

Karina blinked twice. "I don't mean to offend you either. I was asked here by Mr. Masrani himself, because of my qualifications and experience working with all types of animals. If you feel that you're so advanced in this type of field then please take it up with him. After all I'm sure military personnel will understand animal behavior and body language a lot more than someone who has been working with animals since she was 15, which is nine years by the way. Six of them I spent working as an animal control officer, which required me to be professionally trained to work with animals. But yeah, I'm sure you got it." With that she spun on her heel and made a beeline for the door, avoiding all the eyes on her. 'Great, now I'll be known as the total bitch.' She thought to herself as she got outside.

She started walking down the main street when she heard footsteps coming up quickly behind her. "Hey wait up!" She turned around to see Owen jogging over to her. "That was incredible. It's nice to see someone understand the whole mutual respect humans and creatures." He flashed a grin, which caused her to smile back.

"Well, I'm glad to know I'm not the only who feels that way."

There was a moment of silence. "I noticed you didn't get to eat your lunch back there." He spoke softly.

"Yeah, well I don't think I have much of an appetite anyway." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Not even for ice cream?" He questioned as he pointed to the Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop behind him. "Come on, I'll even buy." He joked.

"Oh such a gentleman." She joked back with a chuckle as she remembered that food was free for employees.

"Is that a yes to ice cream?"

"I'd like that, thank you."

He held his arm out to her, like he was ready to escort her. She rolled her eyes and smile at his silly behavior but nevertheless she took his arm.

 **A/N: I hope no one thinks I made Claire too out of character. I figured this when the park is first getting ready to open. I feel like she would be excited to meet her employees but still be professional about it. Let me know how you guys liked this chapter. I think it was a little slow but necessary at the same time.**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry for the small delay, I didn't have time to type this chapter up within the time span that I wanted to. Thank you to all the followers and reviewers. I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

 **I do sometimes post progress to my twitter. Feel free to follow. Username: RedTailedHero**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Jurassic Park, Jurassic World or any of its characters. I only own my own characters.**

 **Chapter Two**

 **2005**

Karina was seated next to Owen, a cup of Ben & Jerry's Half Baked ice cream in her hand. She laughed as Owen hit the punch line of a particular joke he had been telling her. She was enjoying his company so immensely that she completely forgot about the intense conversation she had with her future team in the restaurant before.

He had waited for her to dry the tears from her eyes and take a deep breath to calm herself from her giggles. "So Karina, what brings a girl like you to a place such as this?" He asked out of general curiosity.

"Well, as I said before Mr. Masrani wouldn't take no for an answer. If I was completely honest then everyone would know that this answer is truly only about ten percent as to why I came here. If I was completely honest then everyone would know I came here in hopes to feel a connection to my father." She didn't look at Owen, instead choosing to look at her shoes. "I'm still trying to figure out if it's a good or bad idea. I haven't been alone since I've gotten here, so I haven't been able to deal with my thoughts." She looked up and him to gauge his reaction.

He nodded his head, but she could tell that he was confused. "Maybe I missed something, why would being here possibly help you feel a connection with your father?"

"My father was Robert Muldoon; he was the game warden for Dr. Hammond. According to Dr. Sattler he was killed by velociraptors during the Jurassic Park disaster."

Owen blinked twice, not expecting an answer like that. "I'm sorry."

She shrugged her shoulders and took another bite of her ice cream. "What about you? What brought you here?"

"I was in the Navy before this. InGen hired me for some new training and research program. Seems like I'll be working with some dinosaurs; I might need some of your expert training tips." He teased her.

"Now that's a cheesy pick-up line Mr. Grady." She laughed at him anyway. "What breed are they having you work with?"

"Not sure, they didn't tell me. Starting tomorrow, I'll be in the labs waiting for them to hatch. Mr. Masrani would like them to imprint on me."

"Not gonna lie, I'm a little jealous. I want to see baby dinosaurs."

"Join me." He spoke quickly, a little too quickly. "Sorry, it's just I think all of this is wrong. We are messing with the balance of things, and I'd rather not be stuck in the laboratory with the people who created them." He let out a sigh and looked at her. "I'd like if you would join me."

"I'd like that too."

The rest of the night was nice and quiet. Owen walked her to her place, where they changed phone numbers and he bid her a good night.

Karina however did not have a good night; she was plagued by nightmares of multiple disasters happening to the park, her father dying all over again, and the fight with her mother. After so many failed attempts at sleep she decided to stay up and unpack her clothes, and make some food that was in the refrigerator; Mr. Masrani must have had it stocked before her arrival.

She wasn't sure when it happened but the sun rose and there was a knock on her door. That's when she remembered that Owen said he would pick her up to go to the laboratory with him. "Come in!" She yelled as she made her way into the kitchen to drop the dishes in the sink.

"Good mor-" Owen's words died in his mouth causing her to look over her shoulder as she let hot water run over the plate in her hand. She was surprised to see him staring at her, his eyes traveling slowly down her body. Then it clicked in her head; she was only wearing and overlarge t-shirt and it just covered two inches below her butt.

"I'm so sorry. I forgot I was still in my pajamas… Just sit on the couch and I'll be right back." With that she dashed out of the room and down the hall to her room.

Owen sat on the couch, the image of her legs burned into his mind; they looked so soft but strong, he pictured them wrapped around his waist for a moment. He shook his head furiously – she was just his friend for crying out loud.

Only another moment passed before she came out into the room, dressed in capris and a grey tank top. "Sorry about that. Ready to go?" She asked picking up her wallet and cellphone from the table.

"Yeah, let's go."

This is how the past three days started, though Karina had been dressed upon Owen's arrival every time after the first day. They'd go to the laboratory and meet up with Barry for a few hours but then Karina would leave them meet up with the ACU and discuss strategies, different dinosaur breeds and typical behaviors. They would go and observe the dinosaurs that were already in their containment areas. These breeds consisted of the Apatosaurus, Edmontosaurus and the Microceratus. After that she'd go meet Lowery and Vivian for dinner and talk about how their days had went and make jokes.

It was all very routine and that's why on the fifth morning it was exciting because Owen was an hour early at her place, banging on the door with such energy that she ran to open it.

"They're hatching! Hurry!" He was like a child on Christmas morning. Quickly, she grabbed her things and they made it to the laboratory in record time.

Dr. Wu smiled at their arrival. "Just in time, the first egg is almost chipped open. Mr. Grady you'll need to be the first one they see."

Karina stepped back and allowed Owen to take the proper position in front of the eggs. That's when Barry ran into the room, just as excited and eager as Owen. Karina smiled at Barry. "Are you ready to meet your baby girls?" She whispered to him. "Yeah, I really just want to see what we are working with." He answered her as he peeked over Owen's shoulder.

The first part of the egg chipped off and a tiny nose pressed into the exposed air. Little screeching noises came from the egg as the creature pushed against the hard shell. Owen reached out a hand to help the baby out but Dr. Wu stopped him. "She needs to be strong; she needs to do it herself." Owen nodded his head in understanding.

Karina stood in awe watching the hatching; this was all suddenly very real. Yes she had seen dinosaurs already on the island but now she was witnessing the beginning stages of their life.

Dr. Wu turned to her. "Karina, I was wondering if you would help check the vitals of the babies after they are done hatching?"

"I'd love to." She smiled at the doctor before looking back over Owen's shoulder. By now a small hand was out of the shell, and that's when the second egg started to shake.

Owen took in a deep breathe, he was excited and nervous at the same time. The first baby gave a huge push and the shell snapped open, revealing the rest of the body. The creature was small, small enough to sit in his hand. The baby looked right at him and opened her mouth, producing a squeal of a sound causing him to smile. She was beauty, with two blue strips that ran from her eyes to her tail on each side of her body.

"Dr. Wu," Karina's shaken voice caught Owen's attention as he looked back at the girl. She looked deathly pale as she looked at the new born dinosaur. "please tell me that is not what I think it is."

Owen looked back at the baby with curiosity as he took in the details; large pointed claws, razor sharp teeth and a predatory glint in its eye.

"They are velociraptors." Dr. Wu stated with an air of arrogance around him.

"I'm sorry, but I will not be able to help check the vitals." She spoke slowly as she turned her gaze to the ground as she clenched her fists.

"Any reason for the sudden change of heart?" Dr. Wu asked.

"You of all people should know why. You knew what they were and yet you didn't tell me." Karina was trying to remain calm. Dr. Wu had worked with her father; he knew that the velociraptors were the reason her father wasn't there today, and yet he had the sick humor to ask her to help check the vile monsters over.

"I'm afraid I don't understand; why I should have disclosed that information with you. However, if you have a problem you can take with Mr. Masrani."

"You don't understand?" The question was asked in a tone of mockery. "They killed my father. How dare you do this? Did you not learn the first time around?" With those final words she stormed from the lab.

"Karina, wait up!" Owen was running after her. She didn't stop until he grabbed her arm, turning her to face him. There were unshed tears in her eyes. "What Owen?" She snapped at him. He recoiled from her anger but stared her in the eyes. "Karina, I'm sorry." He stated.

"Owen, why are you apologizing? It's not like you knew what they had brewed up in there. To tell you the truth, I'm probably the biggest idiot here. The only dinosaurs I have observed so far have all been herbivores, so I assumed that the scientists were smart this time around and decided to keep the carnivores out of the picture." She paused to calm herself. "I just can't go back in there. I know they're babies. I know they aren't the velociraptors that killed my father but I can't… I just-"

"I know and I don't blame you. Let's get out of here. I'll take you for ice cream again and we can talk."

She shook her head. "Owen, you need to go back in there and imprint with those things. You are my only hope that they won't end up having the same fate as the ones in the old park." She moved forward and hugged him. "I won't be able to see you as much. I can't bear being near them. Please be safe." She pulled back with a sad smile.

"Karina, I'm sorry. I'll still see you. You're one of the only friends I have here." He stated but the promise was one he couldn't fulfill, even if he didn't know it yet – but she did. Those dinosaurs would need to be worked with starting today; long hours of bonding and training.

"See you later Owen." Karina whispered and turned on her heel to walk away.

 **A/N: I feel like this one was too short, but I didn't want it to drag either. I hope you enjoyed. Please review. =)**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday (if they celebrated). I have been working a lot so I haven't had time to really type this up in bulk – just a few paragraphs here and there.**

 **I do sometimes post progress to my twitter. Feel free to follow. Username: RedTailedHero**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Jurassic Park, Jurassic World or any of its characters. I only own my own characters.**

 **Chapter Three**

 **2006**

It was another hot and sticky day on Isla Nublar; Karina sat quietly reading a book on the deck of the Asset Containment Unit watch tower, her legs dangling lazily over the ledge. "You know one of these days you're doing to fall off." A voice said to her. She glanced up and rolled her eyes. "I'm not even close to falling, Miller."

The door to the watch tower slammed open, but she didn't even flinch. "Muldoon, there is a breach in the triceratops enclosure. Looks like the twins got into another fight and broke through the fencing this time." Cooper reported. She gave a look to Miller, who nodded his head. "I'll be in the truck."

Karina stood from her spot, dog-earing her page, and walking into the watch tower to collect her walkie and other supplies that she might need. She sat in the passenger seat of the Mercedes-Benz looking out the window as Miller and Cooper talked about their plans for the night. Today marked one year since the park officially open; since then Karina learned a lot. The original tyrannosaurus-rex was contained before her arrival and now lives in padlock nine. She keeps her eye on that number every time a storm passes through. Most of her time, Karina was in the watch tower leading her team through different strategies, then weekly she'd give medical examinations to the dinosaurs with the veterinarian, refusing to work with many carnivores unless she absolutely needed to.

Her nights were filled with any book she could get her hands on, unless it was Thursday night because that's when she'd meet up with Lowery for dinner and drinks at Margaritaville. He'd tell her all about how Claire Dearing was slowly becoming obsessively organized over everything they do for the park.

"You're going to the party, right Muldoon?" Cooper asked as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "What party?" She asked, tearing her eyes away from her window. "The big one-year party. The one that Masrani is throwing for all the employees tonight."

"Oh, I'm not sure. That's probably not a good idea to leave all the dinosaurs unwatched while everyone gets wasted." She responded.

"Well, yeah that would be stupid, which is why the people who are scheduled to work tonight's shifts are ban from drinking."

"I still don't know." She turned her head back to her window.

"Ah come on. Have fun with your team for once." Miller poked her side, making her flinch. "Fine! Just don't poke me."

They rolled up to the break in the fence and exited the vehicle. "I'll watch the others, go track down the missing one." Karina stated as she saw an injured triceratops, no doubt one of the twins who fought. She moved to the back of the truck to grab some medical supplies. Miller and Cooper moved through the trees away from her.

Karina walked over to the injured triceratops, moving slowly as to not alarm the creature. "Hey there girl." Her voice was soft, but loud enough for the dinosaur to hear her. Karina evaluated the rips in the skin and began to flush the wounds of dirt. Thankfully they weren't too severe so she was able to use a topical ointment. She spent the remainder of her time waiting for the guys while sitting next to the triceratops, which was eating the grass lazily. "Rolling in, Muldoon." Her radio went off catching her attention. She stood up, dusting off her capris of any grass or dirt and walked over to the opening in the fence to see the repair truck, leading the now dazed triceratops back to the field.

"Alright, let's get back to base. I want to get back to my book." Karina stated as she walked back to the Mercedes. "You're always reading, don't you ever do anything fun?" Miller asked jokingly. She playfully punched his arm. "Shut up and get in."

As soon as they returned to the watch tower, Karina dove back into her book – attempting to finish the chapter. Her attempt was futile when her cellphone went off. Groaning in annoyance she looked at the screen and was surprised to see Vivian's name. "Hey lady!" She answered.

"Karina, hey, are you busy right now?"

"Not really, just reading a book."

"Okay good. You know that I wouldn't really ask you this unless it was super important but..." The female paused trying to find the right words.

Karina sighed in annoyance. "Just ask the question, don't try and sugar coat it."

"Claire needs you to go to the raptor pen and look at one of the raptors. It's just none of the other veterinarians or techs will go over there considering the last time someone almost lost an arm." The words came in one big mouthful of rushed air.

"You're kidding me, right?"

"Afraid not." Vivian sounded sad for her.

A moment passed as she collected all the bad thoughts in her head. "Well I guess I really have no choice. I'll head over there now."

* * *

When Karina rolled up to the raptor pen she remained in the vehicle, fingers gripping the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. Sure the building was knocked down and rebuilt, expanding the area to be bigger for the velociraptors – but this was the same ground her father walked on those many years ago. She pictured him in her head, standing on the watch tower of the old building, keeping his eye on the beasts he so clearly disapproved of.

A knock came upon her window, making her jump with a gasp. Placing a hand over her now racing heart, she turned and glared at the face in the window. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack Barry?" She yelled, though her voice was muffled to him since the window was closed.

A laugh escaped him and he pulled the door open for her. "Sorry dear, didn't mean to frighten you. I never thought I'd see you on this part of the island." He grabbed her bag from her as she stepped out of the vehicle.

"Yeah, well I wasn't really planning on coming over here any time soon, but apparently I have no choice in the matter anymore." She closed the door and looked at the pen again. It was intimidating, and the loud screeching of the raptors did nothing to help calm her nerves. She took in a deep breath and let it out before advancing toward the structure with Barry. The man was talking to her, in the attempt to take her mind off the fact that she would be working with the raptor, or maybe he wasn't – she couldn't be sure because she was too busy focusing on her breathing.

"Karina!" A voice called out her name and her attention fixed to the man on the cat walk. Her eyes never left his as he made his way to the steps and down to the ground level. "What are you doing…" His eyes suddenly widen, as if something came to his mind. "They asked you to come here." He frowned and looked over her body; reading the nervous-ness in her movements.

"Yeah, apparently no one else was very thrilled about coming to this part of the island – so basically I was drafted."

"Sorry about that. I'll take it from here Barry."

She watched Barry walk away before she turned her attention back to Owen. "So what happened here?" She asked as she gestured to the raptor cage.

"Echo and Blue got into a fight and Echo got hurt. If I knew they'd be sending you I would have just called and asked for advice over the phone."

"Owen, its fine – I just never wanted to come here. I was silly to think I'd be able to avoid it for the rest of my life. I mean they're carnivores with razor sharp teeth and claws, something was bound to happen eventually."

"Still, I know what this means to you." He looked at her with concern. "Follow me, we will get this done and I'll treat you to lunch for coming out here."

"You can't really treat me when all the food is free at the restaurants, remember?" She teased him.

"I never said I was taking you to a restaurant." He smiled as he started walking toward the pen. She followed reluctantly, shaking her nerves – she knew better than to be nervous near a predator.

Owen opened a caged in area that had four metal muzzles, one of which had a velociraptor positioned. There was a gash on her face, the bleeding had stopped already but it still looked pretty bad. Owen placed a hand on the raptors neck, petting her as if she was just a dog.

"It's okay Echo, she's a friend and she's going to make you feel all better." The man whispered to the beast, soothing it while he motioned for the female to move toward him.

Karina stood next to Owen, waiting for his okay to start working on the creature in front of her. Suddenly a warm hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away from her body placing it on the scaly skin of Echo. The hand covered hers quickly so she couldn't pull away as much as she wanted to. "See, she won't hurt you." Owen whispered, his breath brushing against Karina's shoulder.

She contemplated for a moment on who he was talking to, the dinosaur or her. Everything was quiet for a moment as Karina and Echo just looked at each other. She frowned at the reptile as she looked at the injury.

Owen observed Karina closely, waiting for any break down or freak out. Her hand was relaxed under his, and he witnessed the frown fall upon her lips. "I'm pretty sure that this will scar but that's not what I'm worried about. If you look closely her jaw is offset." He leaned more to the right, moving closer to the female in front of him to look at Echo straight on. "Oh, well that's not good is it?" He asked, frowning.

"I don't think it will affect her too much, but I'd like to keep an eye on it while she is healing." She slipped her hand out from under his and moved to open her bag. Digging around she collected some cotton swabs and betadine. "I'm going to clean this out and then put an ointment on it." She began to do as she said, Echo flinching at the treatment causing Karina to recoil quickly. "Easy girl." Owen placed his hand back on the raptors neck. "You're okay." Once again his words could apply to either female.

Karina gathered herself again before setting back to work. "How is Blue doing? She was the other one who fought right?" Karina asked, trying to keep her mind off the fact that she was touching a creature that she had grown to hate.

"I'm pretty sure she is fine. I didn't see anything too bad on her; Echo was my main concern." He answered.

"Once I'm done treating Echo, I'd like to give Blue a look over as well; just to make sure all is okay with her." Karina moved diligently and as she was rubbing the triple antibiotic ointment over the skin, a soft clicking noise came from Echo, almost like a sound of affection.

"She seems to like you." Owen stated but she didn't acknowledge his words. "Alright, bring in the next one."

Once she was done looking over Blue, just as promised Owen had treated her to lunch. He brought her back to his place on his motorcycle, which she had never been on one before so that alone was an experience to her. Then Owen provided her a meal that he made himself; pineapple chicken with rice. "This is crazy good." She commented halfway through the meal.

"Glad you like it." He smiled at her. "I wanted to thank you again for coming to take care of the girls. I understand how hard that must have been for you. I'm sorry if it caused you any sadness or pain."

She looked up from her plate and smiled at him. "Thank you, Owen. You're a good friend for remembering. To tell you the truth, I was terrified to come to the pen. I'm glad I did though. We haven't caught up in a while."

"I know. Three months is a long time."

"Well, get used to seeing me for the next two weeks. I'm going to keep coming by to check up on Echo's jawline."

"I wouldn't want anyone else looking after my girls." Owen smiled. "Are you going to the party tonight?" He asked, changing the subject.

She let out a groan. "Unfortunately, yes." She replied and he gave her a confused look. "According to my team members, I don't know how to have any fun and spend too much time reading books. So to stop them from nagging me I agreed to go."

"Well then I'll see you there. Barry and I plan on going right after dinner." He explained as he looked at his watch. "I better get you back."

The two finished their meals and Owen dropped her back off at the raptor pen so she could pick up her vehicle. "Have a good day Owen. I'll see you tonight." Karina stated and then was thrown off by two arms engulfing her tiny frame. "Until then." He released her.

Karina made it two minutes away from the raptor pen before stopping the vehicle and crying; deep, pathetic sobs. She cried out for the fear she locked up, the thoughts of her father and the broken heart that came along with it.

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know if there is anything you'd like to see in the next chapter.**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry sorry! I have been busy!**

 **I do sometimes post progress to my twitter. Feel free to follow. Username: RedTailedHero**

 **A very special thanks to my girl, Whiskey, for being my Beta-reader! She deserves a cake! I need to make her one!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Jurassic Park, Jurassic World or any of its characters. I only own my own characters.**

 **Chapter Four**

 **2006**

Karina stared at her reflection in the mirror before groaning with annoyance. There was no use; she looked ridiculous in dresses, even the plain black one she was currently wearing. Sitting back on her couch she tried to remember why exactly she was going to the party tonight. There would be drinking – but she had to wake early in the morning so there was no way she was drinking.

A knock came upon her door, she didn't rush to it instead she sighed and dragged her feet. Unlocking the dead bolt she opened the door to reveal Lowery. "Hey, you look great!" He greeted her with excitement. "Do I really have to go?" She asked as she crossed her arms and looked at her bare feet.

"Now don't be silly. Of course you have to go. Who else is going to make fun of everyone making fools of themselves. Now go get some heels and we're out."

Karina blinked twice. "I don't have heels."

"You don't have heels? Well you can't wear sneakers with that dress." Lowery looked slightly concerned.

"Will sandals work for you, Mr. Fashion police?" She laughed at his serious face. His facial expression changed to jokingly annoyed. "Give me one minute." Karina laughed and grabbed a pair of black gladiator sandals and put them up real quick, pulling the zipper up to her mid-calf. She met Lowery at the door again. "All set."

Lowery lifted his arm to escort her to the vehicle waiting for them at the road. "So will you save a dance for me?" She asked him as he helped her step into the SUV. "Of course." He stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well I know you'll be hanging around Vivian most of the night."

He turned his attention to the window as the vehicle started to move. "I'm not sure what you mean." He was lying of course. It was no secret to Karina that he has starry eyes for his co-worker. "It's not like that at all." He tried to convince himself.

"Why don't you ask her to dance with you tonight? You know that you want to. Plus she'd be crazy to turn a great guy like you down." She grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze before letting it go again.

"Well what about you?" He turned his attention back to her. "Do you have a certain someone you're expecting to see?"

Karina gave him an impassive look. "The only certain someone I want to see tonight isn't even a person, it's my bed."

"You're a killjoy, you know that?" He asked.

"What can I say? I hate being social, I hate social gatherings and my bed is rather comfortable. The only reason I am going is because I know you and the ACU team would have shown up at my place and dragged me out in my pajamas."

"That, my dear, is very true." Lowery agreed as they pulled up to the Samsung building. The music could be heard as soon as the SUV door opened. The lights were flashing through the windows and clearly some employees started the party early as they giggled over their liquor on the front steps.

Karina raised a brow and looked at Lowery, clearly unimpressed with the whole ordeal. "It will be better inside." He tried to convince her, but he didn't sound so sure himself. The two of them made their way up the front steps, passing their tipsy co-workers before entering the heavy doors.

Karina sat at the makeshift bar as she watch Lowery try to dance with Vivian and a few other co-workers. It was a shame it see that Vivian wasn't interested when Lowery was such a nice guy. She turned her attention back to her cocktail. 'So much for not drinking.' She thought to herself. A body slid into the seat next to her. "I'll have a screwdriver."

She turned her attention to the person. "Hey Hamada."

"I'm surprised the unit isn't over here trying to get you wasted."

"Meyers was over here before. I wasn't going to drink tonight but she got me to have a few with her. I already warned everyone else that I have to be up early tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? You're not to be in until noon." Hamada stated, slightly confused.

"I know. I have to stop by the raptor padlock to check on an injury to one of the velociraptors." She didn't sound thrilled in the least bit. "I thought you didn't want anything to do with those 'beasts', as you call them."

She lifted her glass to her lips before throwing her head back to down the rest of her beverage. Placing the glass back on the bar, she licked her lips. "I didn't – but no one else was willing to go." She explained as she looked him in the eye.

"Karina!" Lowery called out her name as he slung his arm around her shoulder. "Come dance with us!" It was official. Lowery was drunk.

"Give me a minute Low." She pushed him back toward the dance floor and laughed. "I should probably get him home soon. This could be a disaster."

Hamada looked over at the dance floor to see the man dancing wildly, arms failing in chaotic motions. "I think he'll be just fine. Everyone needs a night off to relax. You should too."

"Is that your way of telling me to stop moping at the bar and get off my ass?" She asked.

Hamada nodded his head. "You could put it that way." He took a sip of his drink and stood up. "I'm not saying you have to be with the unit, but stop sitting by yourself. It's kinda sad." With that he walked off to rejoin his team.

Karina took a deep breath and then pushed all the air from her lungs with a huff. She slid off her chair with even less enthusiasm before making her way into the crowded dance floor. Getting close to Vivian, she decided to two step, putting just a little sway in her hips to make it look like she was dancing. "Hey lady." Vivian greeted her with a smile. "What took you so long?" She asked, obviously dancing a lot better than Karina.

"I took a good portion of the night deciding if I wanted to go home and crawl into bed with a book instead of coming out." Karina confessed.

'Well I'm happy you decided to stay and have some fun instead."

Karina turned to look at the source of the voice. "Good evening Owen."

He smiled at her. "Want to get a drink?" He asked.

She really didn't but she also didn't want to be dancing. She decided on the lesser of two evils. "Sure. Lead the way."

His hand took hers and he led her back out of the crowd. He continued past the bar and straight back out the front doors. Karina was slightly confused but decided not to complain. "It's a nice night." He spoke softly as his hand slipped from hers.

"Yeah, I suppose so."

"You look nice, but you really didn't look like you wanted to be here."

She looked down at the ground. "That's because I didn't. My unit kind of begged me to come, plus Lowery needs a friend nearby."

A firework shot off into the sky and Owen jumped at the sudden noise. Karina glanced at his curiously but once again remained silent. "They remind me of the days in the Navy; like the sound of bombs going off." He stated. "I haven't liked fireworks since."

There was a pregnant pause before she spoke up. "When I younger there was an elderly man who lived alone next to us. He suffered from tormenting memories of the Pearl Harbor attack, where he was stationed. Every major holiday mom and I would go over and sit with him because he would have these attacks like he was back in the harbor, dodging bombs. It was really depressing to see."

He smiled at her again. "You're an amazing person. You know that?" He asked.

She didn't answer; instead she asked her own question. "I can't take you completely away from the fireworks, but how do you feel about ice cream?"

He didn't verbally reply. He grabbed her hand and headed toward the ice cream shop. "You stopping by the padlock tomorrow?" He asked, and immediately he felt her tense.

"Yeah, I'll be there first thing in the morning to check Echo out."

He frowned. "You don't need to do it. Just tell me what to do and I'll take care of it. I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

She shrugged it off, or at least tried to. "It's fine. I can handle it. It's not a big deal."

"I wish you wouldn't lie." He answered.

"Owen, when I met you are year ago and you took on the raptors I told you that you were my only hope to make sure those things don't have the same fate as the ones in Jurassic Park. Right now I'm the only hope for you in making sure that they are properly treated for any injury since no one else wants to. Let me be that person."

He stared at her determined eyes and sighed. "Alright, but if it becomes too much you let me know."

"Of course." She agreed, knowing that she wouldn't. She admired his concern for her though.

The remainder of the night was nice; they rejoined the party for a little while after eating their ice cream. Owen helped Karina get Lowery home safe. She placed a glass of water and two Advil on the night stand in her friend's room.

Owen watched her closely as she skittered around the room placing objects in the right spots so Lowery could find them when he woke in the morning. "Looks like you know your way around here."

"Yeah, two months ago my place flooded while I was at work so there was some water damage that needed repairing. I buddied up with Lowery while everything was getting fixed, so I kinda picked up how he thinks." She paused in her walk to the doorway. "Keys, shoes, gum packet, glasses, wristband, Advil and water. I'm sure that is everything."

They locked up the place and then Owen walked with her to her home; which was only 3 housing buildings down from Lowery. "Thank you for seeing me home Owen." She shuffled through her keys for the right one. Finding the right one she turned back to him and smiled. "I had a good time."

"Anytime, seriously." He held his arms open for a hug, which she stepped into immediately. He placed a kiss in her hair and pulled back. "I'll see you in the morning."

She was blushing slightly from the small gesture of his lips on her. "Until then." She let herself into her place and fought the urge to turn around and watch him leave.

 **A/N: I know it's short and it's been a while since I updated. I apologize. Work got busy and then we hired a new girl who can't do the job properly so we never got out on time. Then another girl quit and now I'm going to be trained for working over nights. I will do my best to update again soon.**


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